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December 21, 2010, 10:19 PM | #1 |
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any cowboy gun fans here?
this new true grit movie has me thinking if it's a good movie that more will follow. also maybe a new generation will become interested in cowboy guns. is anyone besides me a cowboy at heart? my cowboy guns are.
1. 22 henry large loop lever 2. 30/30 winchester 3. 44 mag winchester trapper 4. 45 winchester trapper 5. 45/70 marlin 1895 cowboy 6. 45/70 h&r buffalo classic 7. 45/70 uberti sharps 8. 12 ga double barrel coach gun 9. 20 ga stoeger double barrel 1. 22 hawes single six 2. 22/22mag ruger single six 3. .22 uberti stallion 4. 44 BP colt 1851 cap and ball replica 5. 44 BP remington 1858 cap and ball replica 6. 44 BP colt 1861 cap and ball replica 7. (2) 45 uberti cattleman cc & blue 8. 45 cimarron thunderer cc & blue my wants are. 1. 22 mag lever 2. .45 large loop lever 3. 50 BP hawkins 4. 12 ga 1897 shotgun 5. .22 blued derringer 6. 44 mag ruger blackhawk 7. .22 mag nickle derringer 8. 45 uberti cattleman nickle my biggest regret is selling my never fired .22 mag winchester 94
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December 21, 2010, 11:16 PM | #2 |
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I hope I dont burst your bubble but I knew a few old time real cowboys as well as some modern day cowhands. They used such a wide variety of guns. Most seldom used guns. I know only one true real cowhand that still works cattle daily and actually rides the high country on horseback on a weekly basis and after 50 years of riding says he has never had a gun on a horse. When asked what did he carries, he simply pulled out a stockman pocketknife. Says he has had to put down a crippled horse with it. One of the toughest cowhands I ever met passed away a few years back. Many years living on a ranch 47 miles from town, cattle and horses couldnt pay the bills so bounty hunting for lions, and bobcats was the meal ticket. Beef was never eaten as mule deer everywhere. A Savage model 1899 in 25-35 Win was the only big gun the ranch had. It cant be counted the number of deer, bear, and cats this one gun has taken since its owner aquired the ranch in the 40's. Did I mention that this tough hombre that lived such a primitive life was a woman. Her husband was busy with the ranch so she did the trapping and hunting. Lets see, another pool rider cowhand that worked the high pastures all summer long used a Mossberg 800 bolt action 30-06. Two sheep herding families that I know also lived the rugged Colorado mountain life. These people live for months at a time in the mountains and use guns more than cowhands do because coyotes and bears eat many more sheep than cattle. The first carries just one rifle, a single shot 22. The other buys the cheapest rifles available as they generally only last 1 to 2 years before they are destroyed. The last I talked to him he had a Remington 788 in 243 in his scabbard. This guns was UGLY. He is also the only rancher I ever knew who used a handgun. He carried it in his saddlebags, an old Colt Woodsman. A rancher I have coffee with on a daily basis says he has a couple handguns but hasnt seen or shot them in 30 years and not sure he even shot one of them. What I believe you are refering to isnt COWBOY guns but outdoorsmen guns. I have studied old and modern outdoorsmen and indeed many of these carried a gun daily. And the one thing I was able to determine in their choice of firearms was whatever was available at the time they needed one. Once purchased, seldom did they change guns.
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December 22, 2010, 08:30 AM | #3 |
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well, i only know what i grew up watching on tv gene and roy had some guns similar to mine and that makes me happy. i think i read somewhere where a colt 45 cost a cowboy about 3 months wages and not every cowboy had one. converted cap and ball pistols were cheaper and more common. my point wasn't that cowboys had all the guns i listed but rather the guns i listed (not calibers) were guns that were used during that period. i'm a tv cowboy not a real cowboy and i'm glad to have some of the guns i saw on tv. just my little collection of western history as i remember it on saturday mornings when i was a kid
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December 22, 2010, 08:42 AM | #4 |
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Nice collection Dale. You need to add a couple of the old calibers to your collection for authenticity, like the 44-40 and 32-30, for example.
I love them too, but I only have a Ruger Vaquero (in .357 magnum, not a cowboy caliber!) and a Marlin 30-30 (again, a modern caliber). I want to ad another lever gun some time this upcoming year. I'm thinking about either a 45-70 or .44 magnum, probably a Marlin or a Rossi. |
December 22, 2010, 08:46 AM | #5 | |
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December 22, 2010, 08:51 AM | #6 |
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Maybe you aughta get in touch with SASS (Single Action Sport Shooters) association through the internet to see what these guys use at their competitions. They are real sticklers for authenticity.
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December 22, 2010, 09:08 AM | #7 |
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I've got "a few"...
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December 22, 2010, 09:39 AM | #8 | |
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I have a few; three revolvers, and two rifles that are SASS approved.
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December 22, 2010, 10:25 AM | #9 | |
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All my "Cowboy type" guns are 22's. A Marlin 39A, an Ithaca 49, three Ruger Single-Six's, a Bearcat, and a Colt Frontier Scout.
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December 22, 2010, 11:23 AM | #10 |
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I only have one - a Ruger New Vaquero in 357, heavily modified to a point where a SASS judge would choke .
But it's also my daily-carry-without-fail CCW piece and my sole centerfire gun period. Had it since 2005, it's in good shape but half the grip frame bluing is gone exactly where my hands fit it. It's carried in custom leather of my own design, usually set up as a very high-ride crossdraw and concealed under a light jacket.
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December 22, 2010, 01:39 PM | #11 |
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Whatever floats your boat and makes you happy is all that matters. Most of my long guns are lever actions, plus two .22 Colts SA, and one .45 Colt SA plus two .44 BP replicas.
Heck I even went a Winchester one of one hundred lever action because I liked the Jimmy Stewart movie Winchester 73
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December 22, 2010, 01:43 PM | #12 |
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The first gun I ever bought for myself back in 1980 was an 1892 Winchester in 38-40, serial number 18xxx. I actually went with a buddy to buy a handgun but I saw the Winchester standing in a corner and that was it!
Since then I've accumulated a big 'ol Fort Know full of levers in damn near every calibre made. I also have a very early Colt Buntline, Frontier Scout in 22mag, and an original blackpowder govt Colt SAA. Shoot them all at the range and boy, do they draw a crowd. |
December 22, 2010, 03:25 PM | #13 |
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"They might look sort of like guns that did exist back then, but that's not really the same thing, is it? "
yeah and my colt ar-15 isn't a VN era m-16 either but it fills that notch in my collection...at least in my mind. i see your point but you're missing mine. i know they are replicas, maybe not even exact replicas in some cases. in many cases they are even better than the originals. my point wasn't to take me back to the 1880's but to take me back to the 1950's and 1960's where i grew up watching many of those cheesy B westerns that i loved so much. it's not so much history i'm trying to reproduce but the fun i had as a kid but with real guns btw i think at least 11 of my guns are used frequently by people in the sass.
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December 23, 2010, 12:08 AM | #14 |
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I hope I didnt spoil your fun. I as well am a great fan of "OLD WEST" guns. I have collected and shot these historic guns. When I hunt with and shoot original historical arms it leaves me wondering who else used these guns and what kind of animals they have taken and what kind of adventures they have had. Putting your cheek against an original Sharps and aiming it at a B
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December 23, 2010, 12:11 AM | #15 |
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OPPS sorry about that, to continue, and aiming at a buffalo one more time, is awe inspiring.
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December 24, 2010, 05:39 AM | #16 |
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i got a win 94 30-30, win 94 32spl, and a Uberti 45lc for now. but more to come down the road. those are about it for the rifles, a buddy of mine showed me his 45 and that got me started on the 45's.
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December 24, 2010, 07:31 AM | #17 | |
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Hollywood and TV don't bother with trying to be correct so why should I? Or anyone else that "likes the cowboy stuff"... Re: the OP ? Yep, got some S/A Rugers and a few lever guns and a couple of coach guns and a two shot deringer. Put on my duster & stetson & I'm happy as a pig in a poke... |
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December 24, 2010, 09:03 PM | #18 |
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my buddy got me into lever guns.....
i have several, mostly 30-30 marlins & a marlin LTD II 1892 45/70. purchased some blackhawks .357... real nice guns for the money. now have started to build an impression of a confederate veteran heading west for a new life. columbia shell jacket, 1830 style shirt, 1850 style trousers, shaw colllared vest,& civilian shoes from the 1850 called spencers, a couple hats from bender & clearwater, canvas 45/70 cartridge belt with slim jim holsters & a pair of 1858 remingtons worn jesse james style. did confederate army impressions for years now looking forward to going west. s.m.
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December 24, 2010, 09:31 PM | #19 |
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The Cowboy Way
A few of my Cowboy Rigs:
The little Sheriff's Model with the Holliday Rig is one of my favorite Jacket Carry Combinations. 00 Hagen Hiram's Ranger #24
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December 25, 2010, 10:14 AM | #20 |
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I currently have a Ruger New Vaquero. Depending on how things go in the next few months I can hopefully get a second Vaquero, a coach gun and a lever rifle. We'll see about it.
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December 25, 2010, 10:50 AM | #21 | |
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I have an original 1887 12 gauge lever action, a Rossi 92 in 44-40, Uberti Cimarron 73 Colt in 44-40(had two but one got stolen)several period double barrels. Two 58 Remington Armies and two 58 Remington Navies. BTW its Single Action Shooting Society |
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December 26, 2010, 04:19 PM | #22 |
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30-30remchester: You remind me of a story my father-in-law sed to tell. While visiting Oklahoma he was talking with a group of men. The only man in that group who wasn't wearing cowboy boots was the guy that actually worked on a ranch.
The only Western style gun I own is an Italian 1873 SAA clone. |
December 26, 2010, 08:06 PM | #23 |
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yes yes there are cowboy fans all over the world
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January 4, 2011, 04:16 AM | #24 | |
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January 6, 2011, 01:01 AM | #25 |
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Hello, 30-30remchester hit it on the head with what he said. I remember reading of John Westly Hardins life..he was punching cattle, when some Mexicans tried to rustle some cows, he drew an old cap & ball revolver..& had to hold the cyl. back against the frame for the hammer to hit the caps...it was worn so loose! He seemed to like the old percussion guns though, when he was captured in Florida, he was carrying one..long after the "better" ctg. guns were in common use. One thing we must remember..money was tight those days. There were many 'Panics" (depressions), as no gov.regulations existed..(no wellfare either!) one didn't just discard a good percussion firearm just because some new fangled 'Catridge gun" came out on the market. Even when the New Haven Arms Co. came out with their "Henry" rifle, it is said it was looked upon in it's day as we look upon a high capacity 9mm...kind of nice in a fire fight, but does the average joe need one? Even more important was the fact it couldn't be reloaded...not a small consideration if traveling the west with it's far flung outposts. A far more practical weapon would have been an early Ballard with it's dual firing system..it was chambered for .44 rimfire..however, the breech block also had a percussion nipple mounted on it. If the rimfires gave out, a small hole was punched in the center of the head of the soft thin copper case. ctg. was charged with powder & bullet seated. A pivoting nose on hammer was turned down to strike cap on breech-block nipple. Modern shooters report it works quite well.
Another thing, the "Cowboy" was one of the lowest paid workers there were at $13.00 for a Colt, that was a months wage. Hollywood likes to arm all it's western actors with Colt peacemakers & 92' Win. It just ain't so! |
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